Editing Pinout (section)

== Purpose ==
The functions of contacts in electrical connectors, be they power- or signaling-related, must be specified for connectors to be interchangeable. Each connector contact must mate with the contact on the other connector with the same function. If contacts of disparate functions are allowed to make contact, the connection may fail, and damage may result. Therefore, pinouts are a vital reference when building and testing connectors, cables, and adapters.

Suppose one has specified wires within a cable (for instance, the colored Ethernet cable wires in [[ANSI/TIA-568|ANSI/TIA-568 T568A]]). In that case, the order in which different color wires are attached to pins of an [[electrical connector]] defines the wiring scheme. In any multi-pin connector, there are multiple ways to map wires to pins, so different configurations may be created that superficially look identical but function differently. Pinouts define these configurations. Many connectors have multiple standard pinouts in use for different manufacturers or applications.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://pinouts.ru |title=Handbook of hardware schemes, cables layouts and connectors |website=pinouts.ru |access-date=2016-04-25}}</ref>